Onoga o o ōni na omoi so niwa ni tachi emasu ga kara ni koma ni au mono o

己が命をおほにな思ひそ庭に立ち
笑ますがからに駒に逢ふものを

Roma-ji: Onoga o o ōni na omoi so niwa ni tachi emasu ga kara ni koma ni au mono o
English Translation: This life of yours—
do not treat it carelessly:
stand there in the yard,
only smile, and on his horse
he will surely come to you.
Meaning: Do not think lightly of your own life—just stand in the yard and smile, and you will meet him on his horse.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3535

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
Do not hold your life cheap, the singer tells a girl suffering in love; just stand in the yard and smile, and your lover will come riding. A warm, caring gaze toward a girl brooding over love is felt.
It is one of the love exchanges, as the horse poems continue. It contains obscure words and has various readings.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "onoga o o": "Onoga o" is thought to mean one's own life, taking "o" as "cord," the thread of life.
Second line, "ōni na omoi so": "Ōni" means carelessly, and "na ... so" forbids; the line is hypermetric, and the poem pauses here.
Third line, "niwa ni tachi": "Standing in the yard."
Fourth line, "emasu ga kara ni": "Emasu" means to smile, honorific, and "ga kara ni" means just by that.
Final line, "koma ni au mono o": "You will meet one on horseback," with "mono o" exclamatory.
Source: Manyoshu
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